JAB PASSPORT FARCE ( SCTCONT.)
Sturgeon is accused of ‘making up’ policy as she admits scheme may be extended to more venues
NICOLA Sturgeon was last night accused of ‘making it up as she goes along’ as her vaccine passport scheme descended into farce.
The First Minister sparked outrage as she suggested the passports could be expanded to cover even more venues.
She signalled that the definition of ‘nightclubs’ could be extended to include late-opening bars, which operate ‘quite like a nightclub’.
Opposition leaders say the proposals, which will come into force on October 1, smack of an increasingly off-the-cuff policy.
It comes amid a growing backlash from the public and politicians opposed to providing private health information to gain entry to social and sporting events.
There are also concerns the scheme could be an infringement on civil liberties and will create a two-tier society in Scotland.
Business leaders, football clubs and hospitality industry bosses have already condemned the Scottish Government’s plans.
Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said: ‘The SNP’s vaccine passport scheme looks like a shambles waiting to happen. The planning has been poor. They failed to consult the very businesses that now need to administer and enforce this scheme. There are still no answers and no detail on too many key questions.
‘One of the reasons we voted against it was serious concerns that the SNP would try to expand it and prolong it, which Nicola Sturgeon now seems to be suggesting is a possibility.
‘This plan has already descended into farce and it sounds like Nicola Sturgeon is making it up as she goes along.’
A paper published by the Scottish Government – ahead of a vote in Holyrood on Thursday when SNP and Green MSPs united to push the scheme through – said passports will be required at a range of venues from October 1, including ‘nightclubs and analogous venues’.
But it also said there is a need to ‘define nightclubs and other analogous venues’.
Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme, Miss Sturgeon said the definition of a nightclub would be finalised in the coming days, adding: ‘Most people know what a nightclub is but there are some pubs who might operate quite like a nightclub and therethe fore might get an advantage if vaccine passports were required in one setting and not the other.
‘So we are doing, I think rightly and properly, some work with the sector to make sure we get that definition right and we will set it out well in advance of the scheme coming in.
‘I don’t think anybody wants vaccine passports, nobody wants to be in this pandemic at all. But we know vaccination reduces – it doesn’t eradicate – transmission and therefore they have a part to play and we see them in operation already across much of Europe.
‘They’ve got a part to play in trying to keep us safe from Covid without facing possible closures of parts of the economy again.’
The SNP was accused of ‘government by Google’ after MSP Gillian Martin searched for a definition of nightclubs on her mobile phone during Thursday’s debate.
In a statement, the Music Venue Trust described the scheme as ‘unclear, lacking in detail and liable to provoke confusion among both the public and venue operators’.
It added: ‘The activity the Government asserts presents a serious enhanced risk is dancing closely together in enclosed spaces.
‘The “analogous premises” in which such activity takes place therefore potentially covers a huge range of pubs, bars, restaurants, wedding venues, hotels, conference centres and pretty much everywhere where celebrations through a community activity are being enjoyed.
‘As it stands, this policy amounts to an attempt to exclude some people from going somewhere at some time, without providing adequate information on when, where, who or how. In doing so it potentially disproportionately penalises young people.’
James Calder, of the Society of Independent Brewers, said: ‘Businesses have not received clear guidance on exactly which venues
‘Shambles waiting to happen’
legislation will apply to, creating further uncertainty for business owners who are trying to rebuild custom post-lockdown. With only two weeks to go, this is not acceptable.’
The Government was also urged by Labour MSP Monica Lennon to clarify whether or not vaccine passports will be required at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
A Government spokesman said: ‘We continue to work with the UK Government, Glasgow City Council and other delivery partners on the arrangements for delegates attending COP26.’